"He would have gotten finished" - Stephen Thompson believes Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich stoppage wasn't early

UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson believes the heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Sergei Pavlovich was correctly stopped in round one. That's despite many fans and pundits believing otherwise

Lewis suffered a TKO loss against Pavlovich at UFC 277 this past weekend after referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the bout when the American dropped to the ground in the octagon.

While speaking on episode #54 of the What's Up Everybody?! Podcast on his YouTube channel, 'Wonderboy' stated that he didn't feell the referee had stopped the bout early. He believes that Lewis would have also been finished if Miragliotta hadn't stopped the action:

"I don't think [it was early]. I mean, I mean, referee, it could have gone either way. He would have gotten finished, I mean, even if he would have carried on going, he would have gotten finished."

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Stephen Thompson went on to say that it was a "good call" from the veteran UFC referee and that it was surprising to see Derrick Lewis once again getting finished by his opponent:

"It was a good call, it was a good call. I agree with that man, big 'Black Beast' getting... He's usually the one doing the knocking out!"

Lewis has now suffered back-to-back knockout defeats in the UFC, with neither of the bouts going past two rounds. Earlier this year, Tai Tuivasa finished 'The Black Beast' in round two at UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2.

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Stephen Thompson predicts Tai Tuivasa will struggle against Ciryl Gane at UFC Paris

As mentioned, Tai Tuivasa finished Derrick Lewis in two rounds at UFC 271. The result earned the Australian a fight against highly-rated former interim champion Ciryl Gane when the MMA organization touches down in Paris, France next month.

While speaking on his podcast, former two-time UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson wasn't optomistic about Tuivasa's chances:

"Who is Tai Tuivasa fighting next? Oh, Gane, that's a terrible matchup, for Tai."

Thompson went on to suggest that 'Bam Bam' should take a note out of Daniel Cormier's "book" and try to get on the inside of Gane, a fighter who likes to control range with his striking.

It was clear that 'Wonderboy' didn't feel like the matchup favores Tuivasa, but with the Australia's power, maybe he could shock everybody by landing one of his trademark KO punches on the Frenchman.